Sweet Tomorrows: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber

Author:Debbie Macomber
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780553391831
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2016-08-02T04:00:00+00:00

Friday afternoon I was busy getting the inn ready for a full house with guests booked throughout the weekend. I was in the kitchen when my cell chirped on the counter. Little did I realize what an impact that single phone call would have on me and my life.

With barely a thought, I automatically reached for the phone and pressed it to my ear while I took out a container of milk from the refrigerator. I didn’t bother to check caller ID. Only close friends and family had my personal phone number.

Big mistake.

Perhaps if I’d looked I might have been able to prepare myself for that call.

“Hello.” I half expected it to be Greg. We talked every day, often multiple times, and had gotten closer than ever.

“It’s Dennis.”

Lieutenant Colonel Milford. I froze, my hand still clenching the milk carton. This could only involve news about Mark. I’d been waiting for this call, hoping, praying, for a definitive answer, no matter what it was. Instantly my heart shifted into overdrive and my stomach clenched, not nearly ready to hear the news and yet I had to know.

“Yes?” I didn’t wait for a response before I asked another question. “You heard something; you have word?”

The quiver in my voice got Emily’s attention because she froze, too, glancing anxiously at me.

“Mark is alive.”

I gasped, and forgetting I held a half-gallon of milk, I dropped the plastic container onto the floor. It landed with a loud clunking sound and the top burst open, the contents flooding the tile.

“Mark’s alive?” My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped in relief and shock. It felt as if my legs were about to go out from under me and I grabbed hold of the kitchen counter in order to remain upright.

“Jo Marie? Are you okay?”

“Tell me…tell me everything,” I blurted out, my voice shaking uncontrollably.

“Listen, I don’t want to mislead you. Mark was located and he’s in bad shape.”

“But alive.” That was all that mattered; all I needed to know.

“He’s been transported to JBLM.”

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the same base where Paul had once been stationed.

“He was shot, Jo Marie, weeks ago. The wound wasn’t tended to properly and became badly infected. Ibrahim’s wife did what she could to nurse him, but the only means available were primitive at best. I don’t want you to get your hopes up. What information I have is sketchy.”

“He’s alive.” I couldn’t think beyond that. As long as Mark had breath, hope remained.

“Let me put it like this: Mark’s alive for now.”

Reality struck a hard blow. “For now?” I repeated.

“He was half dead by the time he made it into Saudi Arabia. He’s been transported, everything that can be done to save him is being done, but from what I understand it doesn’t look good.”

I refused to accept that he would make it back to the States only to die. “What about Ibrahim and his family?”

“They’re fine, doing well, and are settling in.”

“Where are they?” My concern for Mark turned to immediate anger.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.